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The writer is a financial inclusion researcher. HOMEBOUND and out of work, and then waiting to hear from the government about an unseen enemy, the poor in this country battled the all-too-familiar risks of hunger and deprivation in 2020. If nothing else, the Covid-19 pandemic brought to the fore the stark inequality that has always existed in Pakistani society. The biggest safety net programme launched in the country’s history, the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, served and perhaps saved 16.9 million people. The programme, which has been widely lauded, has also been discussed in depth in the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Report (October 2020) released by the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) and the UK-based Delivery Associates’ report (November 2020), which was launched with much fanfare. ....